The Capitol Children EDITING
by Claudia.Knysna
Summary: DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE READ ALL THREE OF THE BOOKS. The rebels have won. They killed the Capitol and defeated the purpose of starting the war in the first place. The annual 76th Hunger Games have begun. Kataira is reaped to be in the 76th Games and is trying to see if she can win to get vengeance on Katniss Everdeen for being the Mockingjay and for all the people she killed.
1. Part l

PART I

THE ARENA

My name is Kataira Houching. I am fourteen years old. I'm from the Capitol, where I was raised, fed, clothed and surrounded in decor. We were happy with the districts keeping us alive. We relied on them for food, water, technology and to be dressed.

My favourite things were my clothes. Not just mine, all clothes really. They all make me feel like an individual. I'm not an individual no one really notices me. Surprisingly I'm not well known you think I would be fond of many people because of my father's position. I don't think anyone was supposed to know that I was his daughter, maybe that's why I don't take his last name.

I was just as memorable as a faint, bleached stain on one of your old tops. Which didn't really bother me, I like keeping to myself and people are horrible anyway.

One day everything changed. It was the day of the 74th Hunger Games where Katniss Everdeen volunteered for her scrawny twelve year old sister. A huge hit in the Capitol a protective sister keeping 'little Prim' from harm. Katniss won the Games by pretending she loved her fellow tribute Peeta.

I must say even I was fooled, until the nightlock incident. Where she ate some nightlock because dying is better than not being with him, but in reality they were trying to show the Capitol up or something along those lines. Seneca Crane stopped Katniss and Peeta before they managed to swallow them. They then became victors.

Horribly, for them, the Quarter Quell was the next year. Father, President Snow, told me that the Quarter Quell happens every 25 years. I haven't been alive for one but father told me it's much more exciting than any other regular Hunger Games. The last Quarter Quell there was forty-eight tributes instead of twenty-four. That year all the remaining victors would go into the reaping and be in the 75th Games. Normally we would just read out the scrolls from the boxes but father had to rig the next games. Not because he is bitter or mean or heartless but because there was danger of a revolution in Panem.

These one's did not finish.  
District 13 rescued the remaining victors and took them back to their land. Seneca said we destroyed District 13 75 years ago. Apparently we were wrong. District 13 had not been destroyed but left alone because District 13 specialized in nuclear weapons as well as graphite mining. The Capitol did not want to start a nuclear war.

Once a few tributes were rescued from the Games, Katniss became the face of rebellion. My father died in this war, along with my mother. Father died from suicide. Mother died from Katniss shooting her instead of my father when he was being executed.

Yes they were the Presidents to both sides of the war. My mother was Coin. A long time ago they broke up and mother left me in the Capitol with father. I don't know if this was because she didn't want me to starve to death or she was trying to keep her life as well. After all, my father had all the power in the world.

My eyes now narrow at the golden horn also known as the cornucopia.

It was Katniss's vote that got me here, to have innocent children fight to the death. We were never taught how to fight, had no special skills we had learnt from our Districts goods. I couldn't throw an axe, shoot a bow and I had the strength of dormouse. Anyway wasn't the point of the rebellion to stop the Hunger Games? Not to have people to do them any longer?

It doesn't matter now anyway. I'll probably be dead in the next seven or eight minutes. The bloodbath, it's called. They try to draw you in. My best bet is to grab the pack and get out. Run for the lake that's down to the left of me.  
Something seems vaguely familiar the forest layout, the lake, the position of the bloodbath, the trees that surround it.  
It's the same arena they had three years ago on the 74th Games. I've been here before, touring the exciting scenes like where Katniss dropped the tracker jacker nest on the pack of careers or the cave scene with Peeta and Katniss etc. etc. I was also a game maker for it.

Ten seconds left. I position my feet. Five seconds. I take a deep breath. 3, 2, 1 and there was the loud gong. My feet start moving. I'm at the pack when a girl throws a rock at my head. She misses but only just. I duck and crawl the way to the pack. Once I've finished crawling, I look up to see a large sixteen year old boy at my pack, my pack, the one that Katniss got in the Games. I launch myself at him, twisting his neck back behind him.

Maybe I'm stronger than I've given myself credit for. His face is slightly of centre. I find the dagger that he was holding in his soft hands and thrust it into his neck. I don't think I could risk another fight with him. He was probably the strongest tribute here. Not anymore. I guess that makes me the strongest.

I stare into his deep blue eyes. I have the very same eyes but his eyes look like he's in pain. Pain that I've caused, death that I've caused. I collapse, hiding my face with my knees, burying myself from the nightmares that has now become a reality, actually it's always been a reality just not to the Capitol.

I know that I'm surely going to die now. That everyone here is going to die. That's a thought that hasn't crossed my mind. What will happen to the victor? Just continue living a life with no parents, no family or friends.

I rock myself to sleep, buried in my tears of self-pity, fear and guilt. When I rise, its morning again, early morning, still dark but with just enough light to see. I look around. No one's here. Did they all run off? I circle the cornucopia for tributes. Normally the careers make their base here, so I walk cautiously on my tiptoes.

Then I remember that no one's here except small, weak Capitol children. So I look at all the supplies that are just waiting to be picked up and used. I find a large knife, a couple of bags of dried up liver and beef, several cartons of water and multiple weapons. I take a couple of sips of water and three strips of beef since there's not much of a chance of me starving to death.

I wonder where all the other tributes are hiding? Probably up a tree if they have noticed that this is the same arena as Katniss was in. The one she stole and captured the hearts of many Capitol people.

I start to relax and go over the tributes that I think have died and those I shall need to take extra caution of. I think that there was a small little boy and girl, twins, I think around the age of twelve but looked about eight. Mizeul, he should be someone I need to be worried about. He had big muscles strong enough to lift a huge boulder. I've seen him do that actually. He went to my school. He's good looking too; he could easily win the Games. That is if he isn't already dead. I didn't pay enough attention. I was either too stubborn or too scared when I heard what Katniss and the rebels, that I just couldn't see straight. So now I don't know who is weak, who is strong or who is planning to assassinate me at this very second.

A cannon fires.

I check myself. Nope I'm good. Who was it? One of the twins' maybe? I wonder if one could survive without the other. It didn't look like it. Even in the reaping their hands were locked in a tight clasp. I'll find out later tonight anyway.

If a cannon fired. It must mean that someone has died. Killed in fact because I'm sure even a Capitol child could survive one night. Even if it was freezing.  
I'm not cold, I should be shouldn't I? I'm not wearing any form of jacket. Just a plain green shirt and a pair of leggings. I have got tall, sturdy, leather boots on though with thick socks.  
I remember all the tributes, from the 74th Games, were freezing. I think it is summer now. It was probably the game makers in the control room that made it so cold. So now they don't have anyone who knows how the controls work, what button goes with what action. I know this but that's because my father showed me the control room when I was little. Seneca taught me what all the switches meant.

He wasn't the head game maker then but he had had lots of training. He would have had too, to become a game maker. In the 65th and 71st Games I actually got a go at being a game maker.  
I wish I hadn't now. Knowing now I probably killed my share of people but where I'm from it's a very big honour if you get to participate in the Games. That's why so many people sponsored the tributes. Because it's all the Capitol ever talks about. Apart from the occasional I got my body re-dyed or a new tattoo and often I got surgery done!

We are quite selfish beings. Sending innocent children off to die for our entertainment. Making huge deals about when the weather's been bad so we can't get any seafood or the grass in district 10 has been lacking of nutrients so the livestock are losing weight or there's been a mine explosion in 12 so there will be less trains going around the districts to get us what we need.

I should focus. Work out a strategy and work out where the other tributes are hiding. I'm sure they would be near water. Maybe they're at the pond or the stream because the lake is a bit risky at this time. If you were attacked, you would be surrounded by trees but not close enough to be able to dash under nearby shrub or climb up a tree and it would definitely be too cold to jump in the lake.

I grab an empty plastic carton and my knife and make my way to the lake. I know I won't run out of water anytime soon but I don't want to take any chances. It takes me a couple of minutes to walk there. I fill up my carton. The water is so cold on my hands, it smells sweet and refreshing. I walk back up to the cornucopia and put a couple of drops of iodine in it.

While I wait for it to sort it's self out. I take a moment to take in what's going on around me, to think of different theories about what's happening in the outside world. I start to wonder if the Capitol is watching this at the moment and if they are, would they doing something about it? Or did they get too intimidated by the rebels?

Either way, no one's coming to help me now. I don't have any friends or family. The way father was going to be executed right in front of me and I couldn't lift a finger otherwise they would need to know who my mother is. They were both killed before me. Leaving me in utter depression for days but I had to get over it quick.

I could kill myself slowly now. Commit suicide like Holly, the girl tribute from district 5. She was one of the cleverest people I have ever met. She knew that if Cato caught her she would have a long painful death and if she was left in the top three with Peeta and Katniss, well I suppose that was her thinking, that somehow she knew those two would prove to the game makers that they was more than just a helper in factories or fields or mines. That they are real. That they should have better living conditions, no more starvation or better yet no more Hunger Games.

I think that is what the problem with me, I think too much, too much of the past. I shouldn't be, otherwise I really will start to cut myself. I need to start looking forward, instead of back. I never know I might actually win this.

The light starts to dim. So I make a hut out of the supplies that have been left out from the bloodbath. I lay a sleeping bag on the ground, and lie on it. I have plenty of weapons around me in case I get invaded tonight. I think of my victory ceremony and what it will be like once I win but a long fight seems to be happening right before my eyes.

I can make out the shapes of two males wrestling each other. One second one of the tributes will of pinned the other down and begin to punch the other vigorously when suddenly, it will change over. There are a lot of yelps of fear, anger, frustration and pain during the night and the smell of blood becomes overwhelming. Just as I start to drift off, a cannon fires. I hope that means the end of this fight. The two shapes stop. Maybe they're both dead? Then one of them begins to slowly get up, when the other tackles him back to the ground.

So it wasn't either of them. The battle continues well into the morning light. I manage to get one or two hours sleep. I wake up to find them both exhausted and bloody messes. I drink some water and eat half an apple before I get up and finish them off myself.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. One of them died the minute I pushed him off the other tribute. As for the other one, I stabbed my knife through his already sliced open throat. I check them for useful supplies. There's nothing on either of them. No weapons, no knives, no rocks, no nothing. That just shows how deadly humans are. Without any weapons they managed to slice each other open and beat each other to a pulpy mess.

I go back to my hut hiding in the cornucopia. It doesn't look visible either. It just looks like supplies stacked together. If anyone's smart enough they will know that they will find food here. Once the starvation starts kicking in then I'll know when the battle has really begun.

When will they show the tributes that have died? They haven't shown us yet. I want to know who's still alive. I finish the rest of my apple and find one of the packs full off books. Some of them are about edible plants, survival guides and a few plain journals with fancy pens. Then something catches my eye. I find a holographic book.

I open it.

A smile takes over my face. It's about all the tributes. Those who are dead. Those who are alive, who killed who and must excitingly all the strengths and weaknesses off all the other tributes. It even has their locations.

It turns out there were only two girls. One of the twins and myself. They are still alive and are hiding buy a waterfall I never knew existed. All the boys that are alive are all strong. That being their strength and their weakness. Mizeul is dead. One of the boys I killed took his life from him.

Seven of us left.

Seventeen are dead.

Six more are to die.

One left to live.

I sit down filling one of the journals with the knowledge of the holographic device. I have just about written everything down. It's getting quite dark so I need to turn it off soon. I then realize the last thing I need to write out, says that it automatically prints everything with a push of a button.

All that time wasted when all I needed to do was press a button. I make numerous copies so I can't lose it and will always be able to track my opponents. What's good now is that I have more actual pictures off the tributes instead of what I had 'drawn'. I then turn off the device and pack an emergency pack in case in the night I need to move quickly.

I place in it the bottle of iodine, a water carton, a couple of packs of food, plenty of knives, two of my journals, the device, some rope and a sleeping bag. I also put a jacket on before I fall asleep.

It's lucky I was well rested and packed. It wasn't long before I had to move. Three guys strode over to me. I held my breath to not catch any attention from the warm puff of fog coming from my mouth. Mind you, it's so cold my whole body is steaming. I watch as they come close to the entrance of my hut. I wriggle out the back of it.

I have no idea of where to go. All the places nearby are occupied by tributes. I chuck my bag up on top of the cornucopia and pull myself up after it. I grab out several knives and locate the two tributes. They're heading back into the forest. Not in a very sly manor. Their feet could be heard from over the other side of the lake, plus they're not very good at whispering.

I hold the knife up to the moon, blinding light into the eyes of the trio. They wonder round trying to find each other and sort out what direction to go in. Now is the time to attack if I'm going to make it out alive. I jump off the horn and crawl to them. I stop about twenty yards from them and bring my knife to ones wrist, the other to his heart.

Well that's five kills in the past, what? Two days? Well isn't that just absolutely delightful. Five kills isn't that much compared to what Katniss did. She must have killed around a hundred people. All innocent souls, some of them never even were above the age of ten. I suppose that's why I hate her so much because she took so many lives. Most of them were clueless on what was going on. Father, had to lie to them in order to protect them.

"Need help cleaning up?"  
I startlingly look up. A young boy who must be the age of fourteen or fifteen, stood in front of me. Always a shame to see a nice face before you gets slaughtered by them. Especially if you didn't know them.  
He grabs my bloody knife and walks down to the lake.

Did he just steal my weapon? Is he leaving me totally defenceless while his ally hacks at my neck? Well if so, they didn't think this through very well because I have another four or five knives in my pack, two in my boots, one tucked into my bra and one in my hair. I find his pack lying on the ground. I can't help myself but to snoop through it. I find he only has a sleeping bag and a drink bottle. How do you survive all by yourself with that? Only he wasn't by himself. There were three boys, I killed two and this was the third.

He wasn't a bit shy up until the point where I threw a knife in his shoulder. I'm quite good with my aim considering I've never thrown a knife before. He just pulls it out and says. "Thanks I needed a weapon." He smirks. I glare at him as he wipes the blood off with his green shirt, an identical one to mine. I don't like him. He has a sarcastic way with his small amount of words, almost like he thinks this is just a big joke, like we're back in the Capitol, just playing a friendly game of tag. Still this boy, according to the device, knows a lot more than I do.

"So we become allies now?" I ask. He smirks again. He walks over to his dead allies and collects some stuff. He drops in front of me a couple of different types of berries, some bread and a slingshot. I guess that means yes. I raise my eyebrows and grab the slingshot and a couple of nightlock berries. I'm just pulling the latex back when I notice what kind of berry they are.

I scream in terror and fall back onto the ground, scrambling away from them. They bring back memories of Katniss and what she did to my mother and father. My ally looks startled, looks around with my knife in his hand up and ready. This relaxes me. His hands drop to his side. "Are you trying to get us killed?" He questions me.

"Are you crazy?" I reply. "Do you not know what this is?"

"No?"

"It's fricking nightlock!" I scream at him. He looks taken back. Hurt. Then realization of what it did to us.

"Sorry, I didn't know," he says.

"No I'm sorry. You don't know what it means to me."

"Well then Kataira, what does it mean to you?" He counters back at me. What does it mean to me? I sigh. "It doesn't matter." How did he know my name?

"It does quite matter. You're the only one I don't know," he smirks for the third time.

"What do you mean?" I say slyly.

"It doesn't matter." He said imitating my voice. I glare at him.

"Why were we the lucky ones who got food, comfort and easier life styles?" I say.

"I thought you would be able to answer that, since your father was President Snow." How did he know that? I took extra precautions to not say that because I knew that if anyone found out, that would be the end of me. "Well the device doesn't lie." I say. He looks at me confused. I zip open my bag and pull the device out. "This, Is the device." I don't know what it's actually called. This name fits the picture anyway. "It has a map of all the tributes. Where they have been, where they are, their bases. It even has descriptions on all of us." I say. "It also says that you're clever."

"So it's correct then," he laughs. I ignore him. "Make yourself useful and make me some breakfast, I'm starved," he says.

"Can't a big boy like you, feed yourself?" I say pouting my lips.

"Aren't you a chick?" He asks, and then he kisses me on the lips. A proper kiss with intensity and feeling but I can't help but pull away and slap him hard in the face. Somewhere between me raising my hand to slap him and the kiss, my eyes look into his. They're a deep chocolate brown, with large pupils. He has the same eyes as a puppy dog. So I got easily lost in them so my slap becomes more of a face palm. Still effective though, I manage to break his nose and give him what I think will become a black eye.

"Yep you're definitely a chick." He smiles before adding, "Unless you're gay?" God I don't look like a guy do I? I'm sure he's just winding me up. Not to brag or anything but I'm pretty sure he can see my chest. I'm definitely not flat chested. "You sure I'm a chick?" I say sarcastically. "I don't know? Prove it to me."

"Prove it to you how?" I pull a face, which makes him laugh,

"Show me." He says sickly. I slap him properly this time. Just to make him laugh more.

"What's so funny?" I say aggravated.

"You." He responds, pressing my nose like a button. I don't like this; it makes me feel like a child. He's the same age as me I think. "How old are you?"

"Change the subject then." He points out.

"Don't dodge my question." I pull out my knife from in my boot. He doesn't even stir. He just raises his eyebrows. "Sixteen." He whispers. "Two years older than you."

"How do you know so much about me, I don't know anything about you, in fact I've never even spoke to you before?" What did he mean? 'You're the only one I don't know.' He couldn't possibly know twenty-two other tributes could he? If he did why would he choose to be allies with me? Some of the other tributes, the really strong athletic ones, would easily be his partner up until they would have to turn on each other to survive. Why would he pick me? I'm surprised he hasn't killed me already.

"My names Darcy- I mean Dray." He corrects himself.

"Well Dray, you hungry?" I ask. He nods his head eagerly. I hand him a couple of strips of beef, my water carton, some boysenberries, and some of the bread he brought me as a peace offering. "Thanks this is a lot better than poisonous berries." Dray says.

"I think don't think Daphne is poisonous, is it?" I smile, I know what they are but not a lot of people have heard of boysenberries because none of the districts used to grow them.

He dropped them straight to the ground. "Daphne, did you not read the two plant guides you have?"

"Yes I did, do you not know what boysenberries are?" I say, innocently.

"Oh, wow they have them here? Why don't they have them in the Capitol?" he says a little curiously.

"We only got what the districts made." I sigh. District 11 every so often had boysenberries but only sometimes. They have always been my favourite. They are so sweet but sour at the same time. We only ever got them on special occasions such as birthdays or Christmas, sometimes on the Hunger Games. You can tell they must have been very rare if I only got them sometimes. I was the wealthiest kid in all of Panem.

"I only have ever had them once." Dray says. He sounds like a five year old talking about his new game station. He pops one into his mouth. He bites down into the round berry. Red juices come spilling out of his mouth, for a second I am afraid his mouth is bleeding. I know a lot about that. So this almost brings on another tantrum but he wipes the juice with the back of his hand. What would his parents say about that? My father would have laughed at me if we weren't in public. If we were in the once a year occasion of me and my father sitting on the couch eating fish and chips and watching TV. I loved these days, the days me and father could just be us.

I grab an apple out of the bag and bite into it to stop tears from splashing down my face. It doesn't work because soon Dray is sitting beside me, holding my hand as I cry. He talks about it with me. He tells me that "Sometimes good times go away but if that time doesn't come back then another will, Kataira." He takes me back into my hut and lies me in my sleeping bag. Then he lies beside me. He doesn't let go of my hand and surprisingly I don't want him to.

Its late afternoon when I wake up. My head rises up with natural instinct but knocks back down with impact from Dray's forehead. "Afternoon," he says.  
"How long have you been awake?" I ask. " We don't need to keep watch do we?"  
" Better safe than sorry. I don't know about you, but I'm keen to win, not die?"  
"Me too, who's left?" I ask, stretching my arms.  
"Um, the twins, you, me and." He pauses, " I don't know? Let's look." he grabs the device and starts to use it like a 1zo75, which is a small object about the same size as your eyelash. It projects large pictures in the air and mostly works on voice activation.  
I snatch it from his hands, and flick through the profiles until I come across Phodar's profile the only singular tribute left.  
"Oh joy!" Dray says sarcastically.  
"What?" I say rather concerned.  
"Phodar can be very um, precise."  
"What do you mean precise?"  
"I mean, he knows exactly what he's doing, exactly when he's doing it, how long he's holding moments for, what advantages he can get. He's smart. He over thinks a lot, a bit like you." He puts his arm around me. The weight of his arm is comforting and the warmth of it embeds deep into my skin. I push it off.  
"What do you mean, 'a bit like you'?"  
"So many questions for such a little girl," he changes the subject. He is right though, I ask a heck of a lot of questions. I guess I want to know what's going to happen when and why. "You're a smart girl, I'm sure you can figure it out."  
Manipulative, that's the nicest word to describe Dray.

"We should split up soon, even though it's tempting, I don't think I can kill you," I suggest.

"No we need to kill Phodar together, otherwise we'll both die."

"What about the twins? How have they made it this far?" It's a rhetorical question but he answers anyway.

"I think, no one saw them as a threat," True they are so little. Dray's eyes begin to droop so I lay him back into the sleeping bag and smooth out his jet black hair, until he falls asleep. Just an hour into watch and a deer sprints through, it stops halfway to scratch its leg and to nibble on some grass. I pull out a knife from my boot and the slingshot Dray gave me. I shoot it into its neck I go over to it because I think it's dead but I was wrong so I wake Dray to finish it off for me. As he does it I can see the look in the deer's eyes, the same look as the first boy I killed. Painful, unforgivable stares that will haunt you forever.

"Are you going to cook it or what?" He says, watching me stroke the deer's soft fur.

"No, you can skin it though we don't want to waste it." I say under my breath because I don't want to. "I don't care about skinning it, I'm hungry not cold." He points out.

"Won't it be risky making a fire now?" I say. "What about Phodar?"

"Oh, I think he will think that we're trying to bring him here."

"What about the twins?"

"They might be something we need to worry about." He looks startled for a second and then he coughs blood onto the deer.

"Dray?" I shake him. "Dray! Dray wake up." His eyes zoom in and out of focus. "Dray please talk to me." I shake him harder. "Dray !" I scream at him. His eyes fix on mine then he smiles. I turn him over to see an arrow in his back. I look deep into the forest trees. Thank god, I'm blessed with fantastic vision. I can see two kids hiding in one of the trees, the twins. We definitely underestimated them because they stay in the same spot for hours while I watch them. What are they waiting for? Just come and fight already. I guess they were either waiting for darkness to fall because they have a couple of night time glasses or they were waiting for Dray to bleed to death.

Dray.

I look over at him where he lies in a sticky, red mess. Blood starts to ooze out of him. For a second I think he's dead until I hear him whisper my name. "Yes I'm here dray." I reach for his hand.

"Good, can you get me some morphine? It's in that green gear bag over there." He gestures. I jab the needle into his arm then roll him over to see his wound. He pulled the arrow out so it bled more. I wrap it up carefully. Soon it's saturated in blood. So have to do this again and again and again. I start to run out of bandages so I have to rip up spare bags and tape them on. It manages to stop the bleeding. I'm glad he's not haemophilic.

After the morphine wears off, I ask him to tell me a story about his school? Did he have any girlfriends? What were they like? What was his family like? He begins to tell me about his family.

"I live with my auntie, my mother and father both died the day I was born. Mother died when she was giving birth to me, the hospital did not get to her in time. As for my dad he committed suicide because he thought it was his fault." He said, with a tear slowly running down his cheek. I'm not sure if this is because he it is upsetting to talk about home or because his wound is hurting or the morphine is making him feel confused.

I grip his hand tighter so he'll stop. I don't know why but I think my opinion on Dray has changed. He's my friend, my only friend who I need to be there for when no one else is.

"Is your auntie still alive?" I say biting my lip, I shouldn't have said that. Of course she's not either the rebels killed her or my father did.

"No, she died a couple of years ago."

"So who raised you?" It was a strict rule of my fathers. If you have no one to take care of you and you're under the age of eighteen, you must be sent to work in one of the districts.

He hesitates a bit "Your sister."

My sister? I knew I had one but I thought she had her own daughter. Maybe Dray had something with my niece. The thought makes me feel sick. He must have seen the look of disgust on my face. "She took me in so that I wouldn't have to slave for the rest of my life." Then he adds "And she died in the war just like everyone else."

"Did she adopt you or did you just live with her?" I was getting worried that he might be my nephew. He just laughs, and then falls asleep. Wait isn't it bad to fall asleep when you're injured like that. He could slip into a coma.

I'm shaking Dray to wake up when I hear a young girl's scream get cut off by a cannon.

Dray jumps a little before opening his eyes and seeing my hand smoothing his hair back and gently kissing his forehead. I was relieved it wasn't him. Every time I hear a canon go off I'm always so worried that it might be me. I think the thought of losing him is starting to target voices in the back of my mind.

They tell me to end his pain and his suffer. I reach for the knife in my boot and slowly bring it to my ally's neck. The look in his chocolate brown eyes bends me to snap back into reality. The girl's screams continue until the next canon.

"Phodar?" Dray whispers.

"Yes what about him?" I say sharply.

"Remember what I told you about him?"

"Yes how he's clever and all,"

"That's not what I mean Kataira." His eyes glare at me slowly burning my flesh and cutting me open. I'm oozing blood that sickly covers my face, my hands and my hair until Dray's eyes re-focus on to something behind me. A young girl stands before me, dripping sweet, warm blood onto me. She sits down beside me and Dray. Half her face has been ripped off and most of her chest, arms and right leg are missing.

She just lies next to us. Slowly her hand reaches up and she plaits my hair. I don't like this but I don't think she would survive if I pushed her off now and its obvious she's trying to surrender.

This is it then. Dray who got shot by an arrow is lying in another pool of blood. Who I have to scream at every few minutes to wake up. Then lying next to him is a sweet young girl or of what is left of her. There is no way I can save either of them. We would need the best surgeons in Panem to fix Dray let alone the girl.

She slowly sings a short lullaby to her sleep then is out like a light. While dray whispers my name over and over until I actually notice him.

"Kill us."

A huge surge of angry words try to work their way out of my mouth. I almost listen to this as well.

"Go on were half dead anyway. I think she would like to be put out of her misery." He gestures to her. I don't even know her name. I can't murder anymore. I'm in danger of becoming my worst enemy.

I shake my head "No Dray I can't do it."

"Yes you can. It's not like we even knew each other."

"I wish I did. I wish I could get to know you more Dray."

"Me too," he sighs.

Hover crafts, ladders, doors. Dray. Dray, who I don't even know. Who I want to tell me it's alright. Who I want to hold me. Who is my only friend. Who I am watching getting stitched up by strange looking people in navy blue suits.

Blood. Blood on the floor dripping from my hands. Warm sweet fresh blood. Something I have had so much experience with. A short quick stabbing pain shoots through my neck.

I fall to the ground.

Ladies and gentlemen let the 65th annual Hunger Games begin. Seneca and I begin franticly pressing buttons, dragging pictures and screaming orders. I watch as a twelve year old girl's neck gets smashed by a large wooden log. It seems that seven other children have died in this clever trick me and Seneca thought of. We sit and watch as tributes run around, trying to find the best spot to make camp. Four die from running into a pack of the tributes from 1, 2 and 4. I begin to slide the moon up and the sun down then flick the Panem symbol into the air. Seneca begins to order some more directions to other game makers.

"Alright kiddo, bed time for you." He ruffles my short hair then orders someone to take me to my room. My room is so pretty. It is velvety blue and a royal purple. I prop myself up onto my bed and snuffle into the ear of my worn out cuddly bear. I breathe in the faint familiar smell of my mum and drift off to sleep.

At five I'm woken up again to have breakfast and go back into the control room and to start day two of the 65th Hunger Games. The boy from district 7, the girl from 9, both from 5 and both from 10 died from hyperthermia last night. The tributes from 1, 2 and 4 are still alive and have formed an alliance. Seneca and I strategized a plan to make sure the boy from 4 either wins or dies a slow painful death.

"Ok, how can we spice things up a little?" Seneca smiles at me.

"I think because there is four main sections we should put different mutts in each section or poison some of the food maybe." I say dragging giant Venus fly traps near the main water supplies.

"Rodger chief game maker Kataira." He salutes me. Then he marches his way over to the mutt section.

My eyes stare at the globe in front of me which is of the arena. Tributes from 1, 2 and four fall right into my trap. They almost always keep to the main food and water sources because all the other tributes mostly stay clear of them. A bright bubbly girl from 1 skips to the lake to fill up her water bottle. Her blonde ponytail bounces and flicks in her face as she bends down to take a quick drink. That's when it first gets her. It snatches her arm and rips it straight off. The boy from 2 and the girl from 4 run down to help her while the boy from 4 and 1 have sense to stay put along with the girl from 2.

The plant rips all of their body's apart. Seneca presses a couple off buttons to make the cannon sounds before coming to see me and congratulate me.

"I think you have done enough than your share of work Kataira, soon all off the other game makers will put Venus fly traps in your swimming pool." He winks and pushes me out the door where I begin to fall. I fall for a long time. I feel a familiar stabbing pain in the back of my neck.

I wake up to the face of the mockingjay.


	2. Part ll

PART ll

THE FEAR

"In the dark recesses of the mind, a disease known as FEAR feasts upon the souls of those who cannot overcome its power..."-ADVENTURE TIME

Fear targets the memories of a mind, the loved ones, the thoughts and the fantasy's.

Hope is the only thing stronger than fear, as my father used to say.

I've never really had anything to hope for. My father had everything, I had everything. So the only thing I could ever hope for is vengeance, vengeance on Katniss, for killing my parents. My parents met years ago, long before me and my sister was born. My mother said she loved my father, she said she loved me. Lies, she didn't love us. She pretended to love us for something she wanted. Something she wanted more than anything else.

Power.

She wanted power. She pretended to love me, my father, my sister and my brother. She didn't pretend to love my brother or at least I don't think she did. When my father found out, he killed him. To scare her or to get her back, I don't know but whatever the intention was, it worked. Even though the rumours said he killed people and drank poison to prevent suspicion, he didn't, he drank the poison because he felt bad for killing my brother. I don't even remember his name or my sisters for that matter.

When I was ten, Seneca told me that father will tell me when I'm older. When he did he said he couldn't remember their names. Whether it was because of the poison or because he could not remember I don't know. He almost cried when he told me. He quickly wiped them away so that the Capitol would never find out. Seneca also told me that mother went to live in district 13. How she got there remains a mystery but this is the real reason why father left district 13 alone. He still loves her. Or he did before Katniss killed him and killed my mother too.

I try to grab her neck but my hands are securely fastened to the table, as well as my feet and my waist. I bare my perfect Capitol teeth at her. She points to the table next to me. I turn my head quickly, foolishly because when I turn back Katniss is gone. I hear a door shut behind me and I feel another stabbing pain in my neck and I slowly drift off to sleep.

I'm woken up quickly to a familiar scream. It's not the scream that's familiar, it's the voice. A soft, calm voice that's been relaxing me for a couple of days. It's Dray's voice.

"Dray," I whisper. He stops screaming. "Dray, it's me. It's okay I'm here." I soothe him. Although I don't know if were okay, but he seems to relax anyway.

"Kataira, is that you?" Dray croaks.

"Yes I'm here. Can you turn your head round or is it belted in?"

"It's not, I can see you but my waist, hands and legs are strapped in though." I can hear him struggling, I'm not sure why though.

"Mine too," I can see his brown eyes fixate on mine. His eyes are beautiful, mine are so common. I wish I had any other colour than blue. Father always wanted to surgically alter my eyes into a brown. It was very common colour before the dark days but everyone wanted orange or pink or yellow or blue so it became very out of fashion very quickly.

"Where are we?" He lifts up his head and lies it back down.

"In a hospital I think, I can see a syringe on the table next to you." I can hear the door open again and a young girl is wheeled in next to me.

"Kataira, Dray, this is Aviva she was in the Hunger Games with you." The words 'Hunger Games' make me sick, literally. I vomit all down the side of me. A nurse unstraps and sits me up. She gives me some water and a sandwich. Another nurse walks in. I think it's Katniss's mother. She offers to take over for the other nurse and pushes her out.

"Aviva are you feeling okay?" She says unstrapping her as well. "The surgeon did a good job at reconstructing you."

Aviva? Oh she was the twin. How did she manage to survive? Her injuries were so severe that I didn't think even the very best surgeon in Panem could save her. I look at her face. I'm stunned, it looks the same as before apart from her sweet freckles are gone. She manages to smile at me then she flops back down on her bed asleep.

"Kataira, are you feeling okay?" Am I okay? I hadn't got a scratch the whole Games.

"I know how you must feel, my daughter died in the war too." She wiped a tear from her cheek. Wasn't Katniss sitting here a second ago? She must have read the confused look off my face.

"Prim," She added.

"Oh, if you don't mind me asking, how did she?" I bite my tongue and hold my breath.

"Don't worry, its healthy to talk about it." She smiles a sad smile. "Do you know Gale?"

"Yes he tried to kill all the Capitol children, didn't he?" I wasn't there I was in an underground bunker.

"We're not sure but we think he killed them by accident. Anyway the rebels' medic team ran in to save the children that were injured and Prim was one of them. Gale had a trap to blow them up and it apparently worked." She sighed. I thought she was going to start crying but she just stands up and walks over to Dray, who seems to of dozed off.

I lie back down onto the table. How can Katniss's mother be so nice? She's nothing like Katniss. Maybe she is like her. No, she can't be otherwise she would be a healer not a murderer.

"Mrs Everdeen?" The words taste like the vomit in my mouth.

"Yes dear?" She looks over from Dray who is now awake.

"Where are we?"

"District 4." She opens a window. Oh, I can smell the salty sea air now. It makes me feel a lot better even though I was never sick. "Kataira, if you want you are allowed to go to, we made you up a room in the justice building."

"Why, am I allowed to?"

"There's not much sense in keeping you here. Annie will escort you there if you want to go." I do want to go.

"What about Dray?" He sits up.

"Dray may also be discharged today." Mrs Everdeen nods at Dray, "If that's what you'd like?"

"Yes please." Dray looks up at me, smiles and gets up to sit at the end of my table. "Come on Kataira, up you get." He helps me to get off the table.

"I'll send Annie in." Mrs Everdeen opens the door and walks outside.

"Did you ever meet Annie?" Dray asks.

"Yes, I've met all the tributes from the 61st Games and all the mentors." Annie won by being the only remaining tribute that could swim when we flooded the arena out. Sweet girl but she went a bit crazy after seeing her fellow tribute get decapitated.

"Okay." Shortly after Annie walks in with a little boy in her arms. He looks at Dray then buries his head in his mother's chest.

"Hello Dray, I'm Annie, nice to see you again Kataira." She nods at me. "Come along, I'll show you to your rooms." She puts her child down on the ground and he runs round a corner.

"How old is he?" I ask.

"One, but he knows where Peeta is so I feel safe letting him run round in sight." She lightly skips as she makes her way to a big building.

"Can I guess his name?" Dray says awkwardly.

"I decided that I wanted to carry on the name of someone I loved so dearly." She slowly lets the words escape her mouth.

"Peeta's here? Does that mean that Katniss really was standing next to me?" I thought it was just because I was so drugged up that my mind had been playing up.

"Yes all the remaining victors and the rebels are here." She says so calmly. So she is mad I guess.

"Why? Most of them wanted us to die anyway. What's the point in them coming to meet us!" I was yelling, yelling at sweet Annie. When I met her she was sixteen she was very cute and nice. I knew she didn't stand a chance but I adored and admired her anyway. She can stay so calm at any situation or she used to. After her district partner got decapitated she stopped speaking mid-sentence and stared long into space.

"Kataira, why don't you wait here? Dray, come with me upstairs." She bounces up the stairs with ease.

"In a minute." Dray says.

"I'll leave you two to it. You may choose any of the bedrooms on the 2nd floor." And she hops up the rest of the stairs.

"Come on, let's go to the beach." He grabs my hand and pulls me towards the lapping waves.

We run through the soft, burning sand. We dance around seashells until we get to the water. Dray see's sense to stop but I don't see it. I dive straight in, in my green arena clothes. Surprisingly my boots aren't on. They must have been taken off in hospital.

"Come in." I splash water in his direction. He rips his shirt off and dives in after me. He disappears for a few seconds then he grabs my waist and resurfaces for air. I splash water into his face and he gets me back. We play for hours splashing, shoving, swimming, scaring running, dancing, kissing. Not proper kissing. We managed to make a game of tag out of it. If you get a kiss you return it. It starts to get dark so we get ashore and start a fire. We watch as the sun sets making the whole world turn into a beautiful golden light. I rest my head on Dray's shoulder and he wraps his arm around me.

Two figure's sit next to us. I can't see them because the sun's blinding me but I can tell from the sinking feeling in my gut that it's Katniss.

"Why are you here?" I snarl baring my teeth.

"She's here because she's sorry." Say's the boy next to her. Peeta.

"I want to hear it from her! Why are you sorry Katniss? Did Peeta finally get to your head or did someone finally snap?"

"I'm sorry for killing your father. I'm sorry for killing all those people. I'm sorry for being the mockingjay!" She yelled back. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for any of this to happen. It happened to me too. Everyone I killed is haunting me. Everyone I love hates me. Peeta is the only one I have left." Katniss lets a small tear slip out but just like her mum she wipes it away and that's the end of it. I didn't mean it. Just like my father she was conned into being a leader. She was threatened. I give in to her weakness.

"You didn't kill my father Katniss." A confused look escapes her face. "He purposely choked on his blood."

"Why? What good to him was suicide?" she is facing me now an arm's reach away from me.

"You killed his love instead. It was his last chance to get back with her." I feel so scared that I start shaking.

"I didn't know Snow was married." She says, still confused.

"He was ages ago." I explain what happened with him and my mother and why she needed Katniss in the war. I start shaking again so Dray and Peeta take me into a room in the justice building.

"Are you going to be all right?" Peeta asks gently tucking me in.

"What kind of question is that? No offence Peeta but I know how the nightmares work after you become a victor." Dray says, whether he's sticking up for me or pointing out the obvious I don't know.

"Advice Dray, stay with her tonight, I'm down the hall if you need anything." He waves and pops out the door. Dray climbs into bed beside me.

"Move over, its freezing." Dray gently roll's me over and holds me tight.

Not many hours later I hear more screams. Not mine and not Dray's. He stayed awake, keeping guard of me. The screams stop and I can hear what I think is singing. I can make out the words.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes  
And when again they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
A cloak of leaves, A moonbeam ray  
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._

Peeta slowly sings this to Katniss, soothing her.

"You awake Kataira?" Drays gentle voice asks me as he pushes the hair out of my face. I nod slowly and roll over sleepily. "I'm going for a walk." He jumps out of bed and goes to the door. Why would you go for a walk now? Its pitch black.

I follow him out the door.

He strides carefully, quietly as he walks down a wide corridor. I'm not so quiet. He stops halfway down the hall. I stop too then walk to his side. We walk in silence all the way to the beach.

"Why do you want to come here?" I say. "We were already here today."

"No shit Sherlock." His tone pierces my body. I turn around and walk into the water. Not all the way but just so the water laps my ankles. A warm hand grasps mine. I look at his warm breath puff in the icy air. He releases my hand slowly and wraps his arms around my body holding me close. I notice that I've been shivering. He rocks me side to side in his arms. Protecting me, warming me and loving me. Apart from he couldn't love me. He doesn't know me.

"Dray?"

"Yes." He smiles a nice warm friendly smile.

"What did you mean 'you're the only one I don't know'?"

"You were the only person that I hadn't met." He whispers into my ear.

"What! Are you saying you knew all the other twenty two tributes?" How could he know them?

"Kataira, everyone met everyone else in the training centre." Training centre? We never had a training centre. Did we? No, I'm sure I would remember if we did seeing as I came up with the idea when I was four.

"You never came out to eat, drink, train, discuss tactics or to see who you were up against." This is true. After my parents died I tried to hide away from the world. I never thought I'd win.

"Oh, umm.."

"It's okay I was the same when my aunty died." His arms release me and he turns me to face him. I'm still pressed up against his chest. His breath warms my temple. He bends down and kisses me, my fingers slowly start to curl on his chest. We kiss until light hits the horizon.

My legs are sore from standing so long. I walk to the spot where we were sitting last night, watching the sunset. Dray watches me but does not follow. He just ends up taking off his top and diving straight into the icy depths.

He does not resurface for minutes.

Later Annie comes skipping towards us.

"Peeta told me I'd find you here." She smiles and gestures Dray to come ashore.

"Breakfast time." She sings. Dray puts his top back on and guides me behind Annie. We are seated to a large table covered in mouth-watering food. I eagerly sit down and begin stacking my plate with eggs, salmon and tomatoes. Dray just sits next to me and doesn't eat anything. Which seems very preposterous seeing as we haven't eaten properly in while. I finger the sharp steak knife nest to me. I try another tactic.

"Dray please eat something." I say batting my eyelashes at him.

"Not hungry." He says a little stiffly.

"Come on Dray you haven't eaten in days." I say.

"Weeks." Enobaria corrects me.

"We've only been here a couple of days." Dray says, his eyebrows raised.

"No you've been awake for a couple of days." She corrects Dray. When did she get here? I look at the table while Enobaria, Dray and Annie argue. There are all the remaining victors and a few other people I haven't seen before. Then something catches my eye.

"Plutarch, why are you here?" I yell interrupting all of the conversations on the table. Eyes meet mine. Some are friendly open eyes while others are deadly glares.

"I didn't feel very ecstatic to be going back to the Capitol." He says slowly.

"Why not? It's your home." I say.

"Not really anymore, I was part of the rebellion." The words stab me, slicing through my skin. Opening two different types of pain. I throw my knife at him. Which just misses and cuts his t-shirt open.

"Traitor!" I yell. Arms pull me back so I must have lunged after him. Dray holds me to my seat and then carries me up the stairs back to our room while I yell fierce angry words. He places me gently on the bed. He holds my arm as I yell, kick, scream, fight and cry. He calms me down and I repeat the traitor word in my mouth, it tastes like blood.

My eyes fix on Dray's arms and hands which are bleeding.

"I, I, I, mm ss-oo s, ss." I'm shaking so hard that I can't speak.

"I know, I know." He says. Does he really know? How he betrayed me and my father? Dray lies with me while I continue to cry and scream. Hours later Peeta comes in. I'm mentally and physically exhausted so I can't push him off when he smoothes out my hair.

"Aren't you meant to be with Katniss?" I manage to hiss.

"Nothing serious. She is still upset about Prim. I think we are just friends."

"But you two looked so happy together." Dray points out.

"I know, I love her actually but it was all an act for her, she never really loved me." He sighs. The door opens and Katniss steps inside. I glare at her. If I had any energy left I would kill her with my bare hands. Instead I'm stuck on my back. She crosses the room and whispers something to Peeta. A smile takes over his face and his eyes light up. He throws his arms around Katniss and holds her. They kiss for a while.

Dray coughs. They pull apart and look slightly embarrassed.

"It's not like we haven't seen you kiss before." I say. Dray hits my shoulder. I shoot Katniss a look and watch them walk out of the room.

"I think Katniss heard what Peeta said." Dray says.

"No shit Sherlock." I imitate his voice. He pushes me down and kisses me again.

I love this feeling, the feeling of his body pressed up against mine, the feeling of his lips pressed against mine, his hands feeling my chest. I stop and he stops.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"Dray, we hardly know each other."

"So, it doesn't matter Katy." He strokes my hair. I like his nickname for me. It's so simple and unusual I don't think I've ever heard of anyone called Katy.

"I think it does. We should get to know each other better." I suggest.

"Why do you think it matters?" He braids my hair and ties it in a neat bun.

"Well, it's important to have something in common with the person you're making out with." I state, he laughs.

"We were in the arena together. We both lost our parents. We both like each other." He kisses me again. Gently on my nose not my lips.

"Okay, okay point taken but still I still can't figure you out."

"What about me can't you figure out?"

"In the arena you were so different, manipulative, sexist, a jerk, sarcastic, arrogant and-." He cuts me off.

"Thanks you're so very kind I'm touched." He says, proving the things I just said are true.

"Did you get anything to eat at breakfast?" I say.

"No, if you don't remember you were throwing a tantrum so you needed to be taken upstairs."

"Shh you." I jab his shoulder. "I'm sorry about your hands and arms." I look at the blood dripping from his fingertips and the blood on my shirt.

"It's okay, you didn't mean to."

"Go get something to eat. I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay." He has one last kiss before walking out the room.

I only sleep for an hour. I get up and look at the art deco mirror. I look horrible.

According to Enobaria I've been here for weeks. The oil in my hair is disgusting, I go and find the bathroom and take a long shower. I wonder round the room till I find the wardrobe. This room is larger than most of the rooms at my old house. I find a white dress with a lilac lace trim. I tie my thick, long, blonde hair in a duchess bow and manage to have the ends still tickling my back.

I go downstairs to find Annie. No one's down here well, that I know anyway. No one's at the beach either. I stride through the town. Some of the houses are sweet little cottages that are well looked after others are crumbling apart.

"Finnick!" a voice yells.

"Finnick!" some more people are calling. I see people walking around a little village. I walk over to Annie who is trying to get into a large dock house. Annie's screaming and franticly clawing away at the door.

"Annie, Annie calm down." I say grabbing her hands.

"Finnick, Finnick!" Annie yells, I can't get her to shut up. I sit her down and go and find someone who might know what's going on. Peeta spotted me and leaves Katniss to come talk to Annie.

Finally Katniss and I are alone. I find a piece of shattered glass and lift up my arm to throw it into her head. Someone grabs my arm and pushes me to the ground.

Dray wakes me up back in our room again.

"What happened? Who grabbed me?" I shake Dray trying to get the words out of my mouth.

"Annie started going on about Finnick and Peeta went to calm her down when you couldn't. You saw Katniss and tried to kill-."

"She killed my family and so many more people!" I cut him off.

"I know Katy, Peeta saw what was going to happen, he tried to kill you but we pulled him off."

I flop back down on the bed. I was so close to revenge I almost got what I had been plotting since my father's execution. I didn't want to kill Peeta but I guess he will have to go before Katniss does. What am I saying? I don't want to kill anyone but Katniss. A small tear escapes my closed eyes. Dray and Peeta hold my hands.

Peeta! You ruined my plan to kill Katniss. I want to say. Instead I spit out.

"Peeta?"

"Hey, Kataira I'm sorry." He says gently like Dray does.

"Why are you sorry? I tried to kill Katniss. I would have done the same if you tried to kill Dray." Ooops. Drays eyes light up the same way Peeta's did when Katniss whispered in his ear. His grip grows tighter and Peeta's loosens.

"Please keep in mind that Katniss is sorry and if you want to kill her then please kill me instead." The intensity and worry in his voice frightens me.

"Tell Katniss I'm sorry." I say for Peeta's sake. I gave into him not Katniss. Peeta walk's out of the room.

"So you care about me then?" Dray says.

"No I just wanted to get him out of my face." Dray pulls a face. "Alright, yes I do, what you going to about it?" I say. He laughs at me.

"When can we go home?" I ask Dray.

"When we get a home." He says. "Think about it Kataira we don't have anywhere else to go." My face drops and my smile I caught from Dray's laughter fades away. "I don't know who is in charge but we're still under age to live by ourselves."

"It depends, Dray we could hide. Pretend we died or something and go live somewhere in the Capitol or in eight, you know it got bombed?" I'm very enthusiastic with the thought of just living with Dray.

"I think we're fine right where we are." He kisses me and lies down beside me. "Okay? Promise me you'll still be here in the morning."

"Okay." And with that I fall asleep.

I wake up early in the morning, like the first day in the arena. Dray's not here, he probably went for a walk. I get up and changed into a thick strap singlet and some tights. The cloth isn't as good as the cloth from in district 8.

I wonder if I should leave now, while Dray's gone. I'll be all right on my own. I was fine in the arena before Dray came. I press my ear against the cold, white door. There are unfamiliar voices outside. I twist the door open and step outside.

"She's been here a couple days and she's already tried to kill Katniss." A voice whispers.

I climb behind a nearby bush and listen to the strangers talk about me.

"Not to mention all the times she's had a meltdown."

"You don't know what she's been through, Johanna." Drays voice whispers.

"Okay, okay but don't be surprised if you wake up and find that she's dead." Says the voice which apparently belongs to someone called Johanna. Dray shoots her a long hard look.

"What you going to kill her?" He says sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, don't tempt me. She's Snow's daughter right?" The same sarcasm in her voice.

"What's it to you?" His hands clenched in tight fists. I step out from behind the bush and watch Johanna's eyes narrow and her lips turn to an evil smirk. She turns to me and says,

"He killed my whole family, everyone I cared about and people I didn't even know because I didn't follow my lines in the interview." It's an angry tone but it's not a yell.

I remember her now, her short, dark, spiky hair and her brown eyes. She looks so much like Dray, their eyes, not so much their hair. Dray's is more soft and wavy while Johanna's is straight and spiky. I think her hair used to be longer but in rebellion footage her head was bald. I know peace keepers tortured her. I try not to think about it because it brings on torturous memories.

"And now I must pay for my father's actions?" I cock my head to the side and stare at her trying to intimidate her. Of course this is Johanna we're talking about, so not the best move I could have used.

"I know you were game maker, Kataira. For Finnick's Games and for a couple others, just not head for them." She says. It almost seems as though she has been plotting this moment for weeks, months or years. She must have wanted revenge on me. I can't imagine why she wouldn't.

I slowly nod at her, unsure of what my next action may be. She laughs.

"Just remember what I told you Dray." She glares at me and walks down the hall. Crackling laughter fills the decorative hall. I'm surprised no one has woken up. We didn't manage to yell but just raised our voices to show the anger that we had for one another.

Johanna Mason, victor of the 71st Games. The Games I was head game maker for. No wonder why she has it out for me. I would have it out for me. Except it isn't me they're after it's vengeance on my Father, just as I have it for Katniss. And now I can't even get that until Peeta's gone. They probably will get what they're after. If they really want me to suffer, they will soon figure out that the best way to hurt me is to kill people that I love. They killed everyone though so I don't see how this would work, until Dray's hand greets mine with a clasp.

He directs me down the stairs, out the door and through the village when we come across a semi familiar building. I might have seen it from reapings or from interviews with the families, but it kind of seems like I've seen it in person. A familiar face greets us at the desk and directs both Dray and I through various, winding paths.

I'm back in the hospital. Dray feels me tense so he hugs me and shakes me a little until I unfreeze from my terrified condition.

"We're going to visit Aviva," He says encouragingly.

We finally arrive at the correct door. I'm worried about being let in. What will I- I mean we- say to her? Dray has an amazing power or possibly an ability to read emotions and body language instantly off people because he shows me to a window which he says,

"You can see in but not out." And disappears into a large door and reappears in front of a hospital bed with little Aviva in it. Her face instantly lights up the moment he walks through the door.

"Hey," He breathes as he tickles her feet. She shakes a little but doesn't make a sound.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asks, softly. She nods but still does not make sound. He starts talking to her about the hospital food and all she does is nod, smile and shake her head.

A young girl's scream get cut off by a cannon, her voice box, I thought this meant that Phodar had killed her. She was a bloody mess when I saw her. When she leant over me and lied next to me. Before she fell asleep she hummed a lullaby and screamed a lot, maybe she lost it during surgery it is obvious that she can't talk anymore.

She pulls out a locket and twists the hands on the clock round and round and round when it starts to play some sort of lullaby, the same tune that she hums every so often. Her body seems less tense as the lullaby nears its end. Dray whispers, giggles and talks to her as if no one else is listening. She seems so happy, whatever Dray is whispering to her it defiantly is making her happy.

Since when is Dray so nice? He was so different in the Games. Almost like he enjoyed being there. And now, he's so sweet. It doesn't make sense. I know how if you become a victor you often change, but this is the other way round. When you win, you become less of a good person whereas Dray, has become more of one.

I look at the scars on the palms of my hands. I got them on the last night of the Games. I wonder what I cut them on. I don't remember cutting them. I just remember being on the hovercraft then blood and Dray. Obviously I wasn't top priority, seeing as Aviva's face hasn't a flaw on it and I have scars all over my arms.

Aviva points to a glass of water and without hesitation Dray leans over and picks it up for her. She strokes the edge of the cup before tipping it over Drays head. I can't hold the laughter in. I'm rolling around on the floor until Dray comes out soaking wet, which makes me laugh a lot more.

"She wants to meet you," he says glaring at me, while holding back his splutter.

"Who?" I say still laughing.

"Aviva, who else would I be talking about?"

"I don't know? You could be talking about Katniss." I say.

"Oh yes, the girl you tried to murder wants to have jam and tea by a lake, in the wild flowers." He says, putting on the most sarcastic voice he can.

I push him into the one-way glass and he falls onto the ground. Maybe that was a bit harsh, but I don't like the thought of talking to Katniss let alone seeing her. I walk into the cold hospital room.

"Aviva?" I say, to the curled up lump on a hospital bed. There is a syringe hooked up to her arm with some form of fluid dripping into her warm, sweet blood. I shudder off the thought of her standing above me surrendering.

She grabs some sort of notepad and pen and sits up. She writes 'I can leave the hospital today.'

"That's great but we don't have anywhere to go. We have to stay here because there is nothing left for us anymore." I say, harshly.

She scribbles, 'Maybe for you but I've got my ma and pa to go home to.'

"Were they not killed in the war?" Of course Kataira, not everyone died.

'No, not much people were.' I sigh. Aviva has got somewhere to go, it's just me and Dray who don't because we're bad people, well I am. I'm not the most fun person or the most sociable person or the funniest person, I'm just a cruel person who took pride in killing innocent children ever since she was four.

Aviva is always smiling and happy.

"Why did you poor water all over Dray?" I say.

She smiles almost like she would have laughed if she could, as she writes, 'You will find out soon enough.' She winks and pulls out her locket and again is out like a light.

I lay her down and tuck her in before leaving the room.

Dray is outside, waiting for me. We walk down the twisting corridors and out the large door. Dray starts heading towards the beach and I head back into our room. I want him to follow me and sure enough he does.

As he holds the cream door open as he says "Mi lady,"

"Mi lady? I haven't heard that since we studied the Middle Ages in history," I say, probably bursting his bubble, much to my intention.

"Not sweet?" He asks.

"Not sweet." I reply pulling a sour face.

"PRETTY!" He yells.

"Just be jealous okay?"

"I-,"

"Okay?" I cut him off.

"Okay!" He says hiding his face with his hands and peeking through a crack between his fingers.

"I'm really hungry." I say with my stomach growling at me.

"Me too," He says walking over to a weird bulky thing on the wall. He presses a couple of numbers on the keypad and twiddles his finger round a spiral cord while ordering some types of food which I don't understand.

"What's this?" I say prodding the thing on the wall. He gives me an odd look and shakes his head. Minutes later some different foods come into the room. Me and Dray feast upon the dessert section paying no attention to anything moderately healthy. Dray bites into a chocolate covered strawberry while I lick an ice cream. God, I've missed ice cream. And chocolate.

Once we empty out the tray, we put it outside the door.

"We'll put it away later." Dray says.

"I'm going to have a shower," I say, he nods as I walk out the room.

I take off all my clothes before noticing I forgot to shut the door and in the frame there stands Dray, looking me up and down. I scream at first before grabbing a towel that was hanging on the door.

"Well aren't you smart?" He's getting his sarcasm back, good. I like him better when he's like that because he does it in a joking kind of way. Like he's teasing me.

"Out!" I say hitting him with the towel. He steps forward and grabs the towel off me and starts hitting me back with it. He chases me round the room, out the door, and down the stairs. Where everyone is having lunch. I stop running and look around at all the faces laughing at me. I don't see why. I've seen them run around being childish before.

I turn round to see Dray is laughing, red in the face. He chucks me back the towel and gaps it upstairs. I look down and quickly wrap my towel around myself. I feel my cheeks burning. Ice cold fridge, I think to myself. You're in an ice cold fridge.

I turn around holding my chin up trying not to look defeated or weakened or whatever and slowly walk up the stairs. Outside the door Dray is still pissing himself laughing.

"It's not that funny!" I yell at him. He still laughing but nodding.

"Yes-it-is." He says between laughter.

"Yes it was," I join in on his laughter.

We collapse on the bed after laughing for a good hour or so. When we finally calm down Dray says. "Did you see some of their faces?"

"Yes," I splutter.

"Sucks to be you." Dray says.

"Why?" I say. "I don't know any of them well, apart from maybe Plutarch."

"He was there too. No I mean you have to have dinner with them and lunch and breakfast and so on and so forth."

"I'm blaming you," I say.

"Why? Because I chased you down the stairs?" He says joking around.

"I'm keen to go swimming?" I randomly put it out there.

"Ok, see you down there." He heads out the door.

I search round through the drawers and the closets until I find a bikini. I run down the stairs where everyone is still sitting round the table.

"Hey sweetheart, off to find your boyfriend?" A drunken voice spits out.

"I thought that was your name for Katniss." Says a boy, who looks a lot like Katniss. Oh it's Gale. And that's Haymitch, I match faces to names. I walk out of the room while everyone is arguing. I run down to the beach, looking for Dray as I bury my feet in the soft sand.

His head pops out from under the waves and he gestures me into the water.

White foam from the cold sea pinches my ankles. It's funny, I've never been in the ocean before. But the minute I arrived here I jumped straight into the icy, blue depths. I stand still, taking everything in. The sun rests just in the middle of the sky, casting shadows onto anything and everything that moves. The palm trees and the flax grass are rich with green shades highlighting the golden sand that it grows in. There are a few hammocks tied onto trees and on little huts. When the wind blows some shells, which are tied to some nylon string, hit each other making different pitches of sounds.

And I thought I lived in paradise.

Even though we had lots of advanced technology we still lived in a grubby old city. With lots of pollution, rubbish and selfishness.

The people in the past said that the more advanced the technology gets the more pollution the earth will have. They said stuff like, we would burst our ozone layer, we would kill off animals, and we would raise the water level. Actually, that did happen. But for everything else the technology helped us overcome the environmental problems.

I look into the deep blue ocean where Dray smiles at me. He notices my face, thinking of home and stuff makes me upset. I wade further in to the depths up until my hips. Dray has disappeared again. He will probably grab my feet in a second. The waters so calm I can't even see the ripple in the water from Dray's familiar stroke.

I dive in the freezing water and begin free styling to where Dray recently popped his head up. He lifts me up out of the water and on to his shoulders. I notice that there is a faint scar on his right shoulder. I trace the outside of it.

"I'm sorry." I sigh.

"What for?" He grabs my hand and clasps it. "For throwing a knife into it? That was ages ago Katy, I've forgotten." He adds.

"Why do you want to forget?"

"I don't want to be reminded of all those people I killed, murdered. Even if they were trying to kill me." I haven't even thought about the people I killed since we arrived here. Not properly any way.

"Is that how you know so much about me? The training centre, is that why I don't know anyone?"

"Yes." He simply answers. "Come on, let's go and talk to the others and see why we're here."

I smile at him. Yes, I might finally get some answers. Once we've finished getting changed we go down the stairs, Dray stops me about halfway.

"No arguing alright?" I nod. "No fighting, no glaring, no attempting murder, no nothing, got it?" I nod again. "Promise?" I nod for the third time and begin my walk down the stairs and to the dining hall.

It looks as though no one has moved since I came down here last. Dray whispers something to Katniss and she nods and glares at me. Keeping my word with Dray I smile sickly and duck my head.

Johanna and Gale pull a seat for me between them but Dray tells me to sit on the end. So I sit down while everyone waits for me to ask the question.

"Start from the end of the Quarter Quell."


	3. Part lll

PART lll

THE PLAN

From when the Quarter Quell was announced Plutarch announced a plan, in which, all of the tributes were involved with, apart from Katniss and Peeta, who couldn't be told because Peeta didn't need to be and Katniss would of given it away, or something like that. It's hard to process words that you don't want to hear.

But of course curiosity got the better of me. I began to hear dreaded things like how my father died, how he got all of the mutations to kill everyone, about the human shields. I learned about District 13 and how they survived. I learned about the bombings and the uprisings. An illegal encounter with Katniss and two district 8 girls and their theory of District 13.

When District 12 got bombed and why (although I already knew.) the only thing that made me laugh or show any emotion was when Gale said that he saw Peeta's family. He could hear their wails and their screeches, but he sat and watched while the bakery was burnt to a crisp. He said he could have saved them if he wanted to, but why would he ever want to?

After all if Peeta wasn't there Katniss would have never pulled out those nightlock berries.

I didn't laugh because Gale just sat their basically munching on popcorn while Peeta's family got baked and burned alive, but because of all the reactions from all the people surrounding the table.

Most of them were shocked, of course, while others were snickering, some glared, some fainted (mostly Capitol people) and some even stood up and punched him.

Peeta threw up so Katniss and Dray helped him to his room, silently.

I stayed true to my word with Dray though, up until they mentioned my mother.

They said that she murdered a lot more than Katniss did. They bad mouthed her with every word. And with every word they said became a weight, burying deep into my chest. I tuned out and watched Katniss and Dray come silently into the room.

"Glad you killed her Catnip." Katniss shot Gale a look and I'm the one who takes action.

Blood fills his eyes as they cart him out of the room. I wet my napkin and clean the blood out from underneath my nails. Dray's eyes meet mine and he nods approvingly.

So I didn't follow what he said but he thinks it was the right thing to do? He probably will never see again, mind you the managed to fix Aviva. So that was a bit of an over exaggeration. Oh well, I don't think anyone will mind if he never sees again.

Everyone looks at me, expecting a reason or an answer. I stutter, opening my mouth trying to form words that won't fit together.

"Coin was her mother." Dray says. I nod and smile gratefully. He looks back as if to say 'better make it worth it. Everyone looks at me and I say, "Um, yea… she… was. Before ….." I can hardly say them. "Before Katniss killed her." I duck my head.

"But I thought your father was Snow?" Johanna says.

"Yea, he was." I reply.

"But how ca-." She starts.

Dray cuts her off by saying "Coin and Snow had a thing for a while, had three kids, got married. Coin did something and Snow killed Kataira's little brother to scare Coin. Coin moved to 13 and that's why that district was left alone, because Snow still loved her."

"That's why he's dead now." I add.

"So he committed suicide?" Annie says sweetly.

"Yes." And that ends the conversation. Everyone falls silent. I use this as an excuse to leave the awkward table, and gap it upstairs. Only to be followed by footsteps and arms that cradle me as I sob not so silently into Peeta's chest.

Dray takes over about an hour of howling later. His arms are just as stable as Peeta's but are just the slight bit more welcoming. The way he holds me and the way my head fits into his neck just feels more right than having a cuddle with Katniss's fiancée. I learnt a lot while I had a four hour conversation about death, mutiny and torture.

The light slowly disappears over the horizon as Dray still holds me, now back on top of our bed. He lays me into bed then fetches a damp cloth to wipe my tear stained face with.

"We better get you changed. I don't want sand all through the sheets." He says sweeping my long blonde hair from my face. I realise I'm still in my white bikini. Dray stays in bed while I jump into the shower, get dressed and climb into bed, next to Dray.

I wake up later than usual. Dray is awake. He notices that I'm awake and holds me into his chest. The same way Peeta held me last night. Why does Peeta hold me when/ while I cry? He really should have killed me by now. I'm not of any use to anybody right now and disposing of me would be easier than almost anything. I have no use for them.

Dray's brown eyes shine in the light, escaping from a gap on the curtains.

"Do you ever sleep?" I say. I've never noticed this before but he has dark circles under his eyes, his face seems to have lost his olive complexion.

"No," He sighs. "I don't like to," I give him a confused look, which results him to add, "Just think of how much use you are to them, they're not completely heartless so they might murder you while you're asleep." His face drops, "And I can't let that happen."

Ignoring the last part I say "I was just thinking that,"

Well I think there goes any hope I had left. Dray's given up on his loyalty to the rebels, not that he had much. His hand gently smoothes out my hair. I slowly breathe in and out. What if they really do come after me while I'm asleep? How much use can Dray be? He can't be any more than me? After all I know how everything works around here.

"Did you hear about Paylor?" Dray asks.

"How she was the commander?" I say, I know it shouldn't but it really confuses me how so many people betrayed my father.

"How she became President of Panem." He corrects me. Anger rose and built up inside me.

"What?" I scream at him. "What the hell? Why have they started the cycle again? She'll just end up doing something they don't like and she'll end up dead, for her family to grieve over!" I'm out of the bed now, screaming.

"You know Kataira, not everything that happened in the past means it will happen, again."

"And why not?" I say bitterly.

"Maybe it will, maybe it won't." He speaks calmly, so that it calms me down a bit too. "But we don't have much of a clue as to what will happen."

"You didn't answer my question,"

"Just because your father did what he did doesn't mean that Paylor will make the same mistakes."

"What mistakes did my father make?" I can't stand it, he criticised my father. He led me along. He was probably part of the rebellion.

"Well, he continued on the Hunger Games when he could of stopped them if he wanted to, he killed people if they went outside the fences, he forced people to work hard jobs, and he was responsible for people's deaths. He was responsible for it all!" I glare at him while I figure out what to say next but before I get a word in he starts again.

"And now you're the next in line, to take over his job, get revenge on all the rebels, send innocent children off to fight to the death. You're just a piece in his games!" He spits. Glaring at me back.

"I'm not just a piece in his games! He actually loved me just as he loved my mother and sister and brother."

"Oh, and look how that turned out. Your father killed your brother to scare Coin, he sent your sister to live in the districts so he wouldn't have to care about her anymore! He left her there so she would be someone else's problem. Same thing happened to me. Your mother left to district 13. Things aren't exactly what you call a happy family!

You're insane if you think you matter people, no one cares about you. I was the only one who is actually keeping you here because I liked you Katy, I respected you. I thought you were different. I didn't think you would be just like your father!" I punch him in the face, after a moment's hesitation of what my response should be, and in the stomach. He grabs my fists.

His face is centimetres away from mine. I can feel his warm breath tickling on my nose. He is a heck of a lot bigger than me. When I stand next to him he can rest his chin on the top of my head. Plus he's stocky built, like Peeta, but I'm still stronger than him. I pull my hands away from his and stare almost into his eyes. I can't lose myself in them, not now.

"You thought wrong." I say.

I would have stormed out of the room, if he didn't leave first. He was out before I could see the look on his face. I lie back in bed and process what he just said to me and after a couple of hours I think about what he's said to me all together. There is a lot I don't know about him.

My sister took him in so that he wouldn't die, why? Dray said that my father got rid of my sister so he wouldn't have to look at her. 'The same thing happened to me.'

It doesn't matter, I don't need him. I don't need anyone. I'm my own person. I'm not like anybody else. I'm not going to forgive him like I forgave Peeta. Not quite so easily. I've forgiven most of the rebels apart from those who were from the Capitol.

Well I better find out more about Paylor. I find a pretty blue dress with frills on the front, short sleeves with the hem that falls high above my knees. I slip it on and dart down the stairs.

The table is empty but Peeta is sitting on the end, painting something. He's on the end of the table close to me. I creep up behind his back and stare at his brush strokes. He doesn't make any flaws. They run smoothly in a dark shade.

I pull out the seat next to him since he hasn't noticed me yet. He looks up smiles and says "Hey." Then goes back to his painting.

"What, are you painting?" I ask.

"Who do you think?" He smiles. I laugh and watch for about ten minutes. His eyebrows knit in concentration. "Have you ever baked before?" He asks.

"No, can you bake?" I reply.

"Back in 12 I was the baker's son. Katniss calls me the boy with the bread." I nod. "Come on, I'll teach you how to make cookies." He grabs the painting and the supplies and moves out the door. I silently follow him down the halls to a cupboard where he stashes his painting and supplies. There are also a lot of other paintings here, like older ones.

Then he pulls me into the kitchen.

"Okay first off, ingredients." He says lighting a fire with a flint.


End file.
